[Moleskins]

Firstly, thanks to those who replied to my previous posts, all feet seem ok now.
So am I being fleeced? How much should I expect for a Ryeland fleece when I clip my sheep.
I was offered £6 yesterday by a lady who knits and so on with various fleeces from various breeds, mostly rough fell.
She said because it was such nice wool she expected to pay more than her normal £5.
To be honest I was expecting quite a bit more than that. Anyone???

[shetlandpaul]

thats not bad we were getting pennies a few years ago. i think the current rate for shetland wool is 60p per kg.

[Freddiesfarm]

Think yourself lucky - we probably get about £1 per fleece if that from the wool marketing board, but since we have so many we can't afford to hold them until some nice spinning person comes along. 

It used to be that the fleece paid for the shearing plus a little more but now you are lucky if it covers your costs.  Having said that I have heard that prices are going up this year.....

[woollyval]

£5 for a Ryland fleece is VERY good!
Even with prices on the up most people will not cover their shearing costs. For example I hear that good clean wool such as Texel or Suffolk is making a first payment of 50p per kg which is amazing. Coloured wool no matter how good will still be around the 10p mark. You have to remember that prices were at an all time low so to increase in price from very low is not so great in reality....

Coloured ryeland is sought after by hand spinners but still £5 per fleece would be good. Most hill breeds such as Swaledale is about 15-20p per kg
The average weight of a fleece is 2.5kg.....obviously this depends on breed with Wensleydales often being considerably heavier and Shetlands a lot lighter.

[Padge]

we have Lincoln Longwools   sadly they're never really clean

[NLL]

i have lincoln longwools too, i know what you mean.

[woollyval]

Let me know re your LLs as so long as its just general grubbiness rather than half a haystack attached to them I'd be interested in processing some!!!

[Fleecewife]

The prices everyone is quoting is for sale to the BWMB who take fleeces almost whatever their state (with money taken off for really bad ones of course).  If you want to sell to handspinners, felters etc then you have to put some effort into producing good fleeces, without veg matter, unfelted, no coloured marker, well skirted so dag free, strong fibres, typical for the breed, good colour or bright white, well presented and packed and so on.  Then you can expect way more than £5 per fleece.  The very best ultrafine spinners fleeces can be sold for up to £40, but a more average price range would be £10 to £15.  Spinners were paying £5 a fleece back in the 60s.  Even from a dedicated fleece flock, not all fleeces will be sellable and very few will get the top rate.  In addition you have to go out and sell your fleeces, not sit back and wait for someone to come to your door asking.  Try the British Coloured Sheep Breeders Association for advice on fleece production and preparation for sale, and buyer contacts www.bcsba.org.uk

[woollyval]

The prices everyone is quoting is for sale to the BWMB who take fleeces almost whatever their state (with money taken off for really bad ones of course).  If you want to sell to handspinners, felters etc then you have to put some effort into producing good fleeces, without veg matter, unfelted, no coloured marker, well skirted so dag free, strong fibres, typical for the breed, good colour or bright white, well presented and packed and so on.  Then you can expect way more than £5 per fleece.  The very best ultrafine spinners fleeces can be sold for up to £40, but a more average price range would be £10 to £15.  Spinners were paying £5 a fleece back in the 60s.  Even from a dedicated fleece flock, not all fleeces will be sellable and very few will get the top rate.  In addition you have to go out and sell your fleeces, not sit back and wait for someone to come to your door asking.  Try the British Coloured Sheep Breeders Association for advice on fleece production and preparation for sale, and buyer contacts www.bcsba.org.uk

You are quite right.....fleeces must be superb to command a good price.....but you would not be surprised to know many are not as good as their owners think Management of the sheep must be good to produce a good fleece and that includes feeding and vegetation management. I see all too often a fantastic fleece rendedered useless by hayseeds and debris which even with our machines we cannot remove totally

[shrekfeet]

I've heard that fine fleese producer put their sheep in cotton 'overalls' to keep them clean

[shetlandpaul]

are you serious.